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Be a big-league budgeter

A budget is one of the greatest tools to put you on the road to respecting your money!

A budget helps you keep control of your finances today and tomorrow. With a budget you can track your day-to-day and monthly spending, plan for emergencies and save to meet goals. A budget is a key piece to managing not only your savings, but also your loans.

Remember, it’s not about what you have, but what you do with it that counts. Too often people say they don’t have enough money to budget. You can budget not only your cash, but also things like scholarships or loan refunds.

Want to start a budget, but not sure where to begin or if you can stick to it? Here are 10 tips to help!

Set your goals. How you spend your money should directly reflect what’s important to you now and in the future. Take some time to think about your life values and goals, and then create three financial goals to match them.

Think about the future. Even though a budget is a monthly plan, take some time to think about what you will need for the next several months. Then set some short, mid and long-term goals to help you get there.

Review and adjust each month. Sometimes you spend more than you planned; other times you spend less. Take a little time to review each month and makes necessary changes before moving into the next month.

Tools and Resources to help you create a budget

There are several tools out there to help you create and maintain a budget. Click here for a downloadable budget document that you can type into and save; or visit one of the resources below to check out even more online tools, including electronic budget options.